Chapter 57 (1/2)

Chapter 57: Revolution (2)

TL: emptycube

Editor: Obelisk

There was no end to the various different kinds of monsters. The moment they stepped into the unexplored lands, they saw monsters they had never seen before. Like how the Berserkers endlessly fought the spartoi created from dragon bones near their base, they were now ceaselessly fighting four-legged tree monsters.

“I think it must have been an amazing forest in the past.”

It was as Baek Seoin said. The ground was fertile and large building-like trees sporadically sprouted up from the ground. Mysterious karma flowed on the tree bark and there were three different colored leaves. Silver, yellow, and blue.

It was undoubtedly an amazing forest in the past. However, the distance between the trees had become wider over time. There were quite a few dead trees collapsed on the floor, and they saw half-dried withering trees as well. The tree monsters were continuously gnawing on the living trees and creating new tree monsters.

“If only there weren’t these ‘tree dogs’.”

With his naming sense, Baek Seoin decided to call these monsters ‘tree dogs’. It possessed two meanings; ‘a dog made from trees’ and ‘something you couldn’t see with your eyes open{1}’.

It was a humorous name, but it fitted oddly well with their appearance. The monsters were called ‘dogs’ because they possessed wooden figures contaminated by a black bodily fluid, wagged a weirdly twisted trunk, and had four legs. Rather than saying they looked like dogs, their figures were similar to dogs, therefore the name, tree dog, fit quite well.

The tree dogs latched onto the trees and struggled to gnaw on them. These weren’t ordinary trees. Even when these monsters diligently gnawed on them, it didn’t seem like they left a visible mark. However, it seemed as though these trees couldn’t resist for a long time as there were hollowed out trees here and there. A trunk would grow from tree dogs that had gnawed on trees for a long time and create a new tree dog. It wasn’t hard to find small tree dogs that were attached to the foreheads or thighs of larger tree dogs.

“These monsters do not only kill people but are existences that even destroy the environment itself. Ah, d.a.m.n! Just! Die!”

As these tree dogs would still attack even when split into two or three pieces, Baek Seoin had to put a lot of karma into each slash as he impatiently dealt with them.

“At this rate, there will be monsters who eat the ground.”

Baek Seoin lamented, looking at the destroyed forest in regret. And his prediction was correct. The most problematic monster that stood in their way in colonizing a pa.s.sage. The name of the overwhelmingly powerful monster that the great warrior of the El tribe, Lantz, described as ‘the apex of Dragonian rank monsters’ was the ‘ground devourer’.

“Woah… This is…”

The Berserkers’ relentless march came to a halt. The spa.r.s.e trees had disappeared, and they saw an area where the fertile ground had been cracked opened. These were traces of a new monster.

The El tribe called this monster the ‘ground devourer’. A monster that ate rocks. Even when the powerful monsters that annihilated Dragonic went into a deep slumber, this strong monster continued to be active. It wasn’t a monster that ate the living creatures who were on the brink of extinction, but one which devoured the planet itself. That was why there were basins that looked as if it had been scooped out like ice cream where this monster inhabited.

The dirt slowly started to fade away, and at some point, they could no longer see any dirt from the surface. They saw layers upon layers of different kinds of rocks exposed in an endless downward slope.

Choi Hyuk closely examined this overwhelming and frightening sight before commanding.

“We enter.”

The basins weren’t similar to each other. Some were deep, while others were a bit shallow. The terrain went up and down like the KOSDAQ index{2}. However, it became clearly deeper the further they marched towards the center. The relatively tall entrance covered the sky and the basin gradually became darker.

Crunch! Crunch!

They heard the sound of hundreds of rocks being crunched on.

In the darkest place, the ‘ground devourer’ was shattering rocks and shoving them in its mouth.

“It isn’t as enormous as I thought.”

Choi Hyuk glanced at it as if he was admiring it. Its size was smaller than the Wyvern of Destruction. Around the size of a 5-story building. However, its head took up half its body and its mouth, which was located at the center, could open to the size of its face. Its thick limbs shattered the ground and shoved the rocks into its mouth. It seemed to possess a black hole in its body as even when it consumed as its body size in rocks, it showed no signs of being full.

“Like the El tribe said, this is a strong foe that sits at the top of all the opponents we’ve faced so far. Everyone, be prepared. We’ll go with the large monster hunting formation.”

Choi Hyuk commanded them in a low voice. There were no replies. However, there was no need to check. They were only silent to avoid being discovered by the monster, they all understood. After experiencing over 100 fierce battles together, the Berserkers showed perfect coordination with each other without the need for words.

“Then… Begin!”

The moment Choi Hyuk commanded, the Berserkers spread out and scattered throughout the surroundings. Unexpectedly, they took out long-distance weapons. The majority of the weapons were bows and throwing spears.

However, they didn’t begin shooting yet.

Baek Seoin, who became the real commander after Choi Hyuk ordered them to attack, stared at a white male. His name was Handke. Amongst the Berserkers, he was known as the artillery captain. The main weapons of the ‘artillery’, made up of approximately 30 people including Handke, were quite unusual. While they possessed weapons that looked like bazookas, they also used long rods, bracelets, and rings. Sometimes they would use a hat with an unusual design as their main equipment as well. Handke, who was concentrating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Baek Seoin.

That moment, Baek Seoin’s body had already been dyed blue by activating Mind’s Eye as he examined the ‘ground devourer’. When he felt Handke’s gaze, he commanded.

“Right leg!”

The moment Baek Seoin’s command fell, Handke’s rod shot through the air. Lightning gathered at the tip of the rod as it flew towards the ground devourer. The members of the artillery behind Handke each started shooting their own weapons. Some shot flames, others shock waves, each attacked the ground devourer’s right leg with an attack that matched their own karma traits.

These people, who were known as the artillery amongst the Berserkers, were long-distance attack specialists. They were experts who raised their Control and Power to 3-star, and, supported by their Control and equipment, trained in throwing their karma through long distances.

Because their Endurance stat was low, they weren’t suitable for close combat, and because they would often choose karma traits with properties like ‘Blaze’ or ‘Shock’ to suit their long-distance combat style, they were often called magicians by others.

The power of the Berserkers’ artillery group was quite significant. Although the Berserkers were known to be strong in close combat, their power was this strong because their Control was high while their Endurance was low like their leader, Choi Hyuk. Choi Hyuk and the magicians got along really well and this was how the artillery captain, Handke, who was considered to be a top expert, joined the Berserkers.

Rumble!

Like their name, the attacks of the 30 members of the artillery group were powerful. The ground devourer’s body staggered.

{Krrrr!}

The ground devourer became enraged. And the Berserkers shot their arrows and spears at the enraged ground devourer. Although their attacks weren’t as powerful as the artillery, they were great in number.

{Kwawoo!}

Most couldn’t pierce its skin and bounced off, but they were necessary for messing up the monster’s surroundings. Using the monster’s momentary stumble, the strongest amongst them, the Berserk Sovereign Choi Hyuk, closed in.

Slice!

His powerful Karma Blade sliced into the ground devourer’s left leg. However, it was only able to cut into its leathery skin.

Cras.h.!.+

As if it was smacking away an annoying fly, the ground devourers slammed its arm at Choi Hyuk.

The ground shook and the bodies of the Berserkers trembled. Luckily, Choi Hyuk was able to avoid the attack and, instead, jumped on top of its arm. He ran up its arm and shouted.

“Let’s play!”

After a long time, Choi Hyuk was finally able to fall into a deep battle trance.

Ryu Hyunsung and Chu Youngjin’s escape was also spectacular. A chase in an unexplored land no one had walked on. The further they went, the more dangerous the terrain became, and the more monsters appeared.

In a swamp with water up to their ankles, Ryu Hyunsung, Chu Youngjin clashed with the Cruel Killing Sword Ye Long and his personal guards for the final time.

“Let’s stop now.”

The Cruel Killing Sword Ye Long thought this was the end of their long chase. These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had fled tirelessly. It seemed they didn’t even value their lives as they went further into these unexplored lands. It didn’t seem like they cared whether a monster appeared or not, or whether they were exhausted or not. Just by looking at them, he could tell that they were at their limit. Even if they fled from this place, they wouldn’t have the strength to return. They weren’t even able to use that great Void Wave of theirs properly anymore. The hot water that went up to their ankles also seemed to make these exhausted fellows suffer even more.

Ring. Ring.

On the other hand, Ye Long and his personal guards, who were riding on these ankle bracelets that emitted ringing sounds like a xylophone, were floating slightly above the water. Because of this, they were relatively unhindered by the flesh-meltingly hot water.

They were at a dead-end.

“Kik. I’d rather smash my head into this water and die than be captured by you.”

Ryu Hyunsung kept his composure even when his lips were pale blue due to severe exhaustion.

“…”

Chu Youngjin silently stared at Ye Long as if he was going to take at least one of them with him.

“You tiresome b.a.s.t.a.r.ds…”

Although Ye Long was disgusted by their present condition, he was also filled with expectation.

‘How much stronger would I get if I absorbed them?’

They seemed to be the biggest catch of Ye Long’s life as a plunderer. Filled with expectation, he commanded.

“Don’t kill them. Cut off their arms and legs.”